Selection Process & Standards

Draft Process

All incoming athletes that meet the CTFL's 2024 standards (listed below) and are registered with a provincial track and field organization (e.x. Athletics BC or Ontario) are eligible for the CTFL draft. Athletes will be able to register for the draft on their own or will be contacted individually by the CTFL through social media. Draft registration will open on January 1st and will close February 11th. Registration will be done through the CTFL website.

It is important to note that the league will not be registered as a club, allowing athletes to train with their individual coaches and compete as they would normally (excluding the pre-designated prelim and championship meet). Currently, athletes will have the opportunity to compete for their primary event of which there will be ten, including: 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m, Sprint Hurdles, 400m hurdles, Shot Put and Long Jump. In the coming seasons, more events will be added and with it, the league will expand. 

Those who register for the draft will be entered into a pool of eligible prospects. Athletes may register as a core or utility athlete. From the prospect pool, the four CTFL teams will select the necessary athletes to complete their rosters, evenly split between men and women (three men and three women per event for each team) and the remaining 10 utility athlete positions. There will be an overflow clause for athletes switching from Utility to Core athletes explained in the core or utility athlete section. The draft will occur sometime in late March or early April.

Once athletes have been drafted from the pool of potential prospects, they are now a member of the CTFL. There are currently no contracts that need to be signed other a media release form, nor the need to switch clubs or coaches. Athletes are still members of their current clubs for which they register to receive their athlete ID. Therefore, your CTFL team does not replace your club or coach. The league is designed similarly to how a series of meets would be organized with athletes signing up and then competing. The difference is that athletes are now placed on teams for which they accumulate points, and in the end, some receive cash prizes.  

Standards

To be eligible to enter into the CTFL prospect pool, athletes must have achieved the following standards within the past two outdoor seasons (2022 & 2023) or the current and previous indoor season (2023/2024) as well as be registered with a provincial track and field organization (ex. Athletics Alberta). These standards are dictated in general by the top 75 performances per event in Canada during the previous season. The converted indoor standards are slightly more difficult as the league must ensure that the athlete can achieve those types of performances outdoors. No flat to banked conversions will be taken for the indoor standards. 

Outdoor Standards

Indoor Standards (Converted)

Free Agency and Trade

Once an athlete is drafted, they will compete for their team that drafted them until they are released or traded. 

Athletes who are members of the CTFL this season will have the ability to hold their position within the league for next year pending they finish within the top 8 of their respective events. If an athlete does not finish within the top 8 of their events, their team's general manager's will have the ability to keep the athlete or release them to free agency to be claimed by another team. If unclaimed by another team, that athlete is removed from the CTFL following the 2023 season and can register for the draft process for the 2024 season. If an athlete is injured or made a national team which caused them to miss portions of the season, the CTFL asks for a minimal amount of proof for the athlete to be red shirted, meaning they can maintain the CTFL athlete status without the need to be released to free agency. As for Utility athletes, those athletes must have fulfilled their requirements and finished within the top 30 utility athletes to guarantee their spot for 2025. Athletes who finish in positions 31st and below are at risk of being released to free agency if their GM's do not decide to keep them. All athletes must declare their intention to remain in the league at the end of the 2024 CTFL season if they wish to continue in 2025.

Athletes will only be able to switch teams if they are traded or released which can only be done after the championship has been completed. For athletes this only affects what team you represent at the official CTFL meets.